In 1881, Roanoke was established when the Texas and Pacific railway surveyors came through and named the town. Laid out in one-half acre tracts, Roanoke was a cattle center in its early days with robust cattlemen, two saloons, a blacksmith shop, a horse trough, and a water tank. There w

ere two hotels in the early days, the Pacific and the Eureka, and a person could get a shave for ten-cents and a haircut for 15-cents.

Roanoke’s population has more than doubled in the past several years, due in part to its excellent location, very low tax rates, and outstanding quality of life. Roanoke offers excellent services and amenities for the community, including six parks and a recently built public swimming pool. A state of the art Recreational Center was opened in December 2005 and currently serves over 4,000 members with many varied classes and programs. Roanoke is one of the fastest growing communities and the “Rising Star of the Metroplex!” 

Roanoke is in the midst of major redevelopment of the historic downtown area and is providing façade grants to downtown business owners. Roanoke has adopted an economic development investment policy that awards significant gra

nts to companies that retain a certain amount of inventory in their facilities. These new incentives, coupled with an extremely low tax rate, have made Roanoke a wonderful business destination.Roanoke is located in the heart of the fastest growing part of the Metroplex with easy access to Alliance and DFW airports, major thoroughfares and metropolitan amenities, yet it retains a friendly small town atmosphere that makes Roanoke a very special place to live and work.

During the depression, Roanoke was incorporated and H. W. Jenkins was elected mayor. Gus Wiggs was the first postmaster, appointed in 1882. In 1889, President McKinley appointed William Cowan Postmaster. In 1902, Mr. Cowan inaugurated the first rural route for Roanoke. In 1948, Roanoke purchased its first fire truck, a 1928 LaFrance. In 2000, the city completed a mini-museum in honor of all the volunteer firemen with the old LaFrance at the center.